Alpster

AWESOME!! Congratulations! Ronnie

No one should miss this, if there is ANY WAY you can get there. Ronnie

Looks like all the details are in place for the wedding at my church in the morning. I am beside myself with joy. God has given me a gift beyond words in my new wife. Pray for us to make Him proud of us. Just wanted to let you guys know. BTW, my new bride is giving me this year's RoadTrip to Pickwick as a wedding gift. It doesn't get any better than this. Ronnie

I don't have the Calais DC, but I have a Calcutta 200 DC and it is amazing. Yes you can backlash it, but if you set it properly and practice a little it will throw light baits into the wind. JMHO Ronnie

My current lenses (all Nikor) include: AFS 35mm f1.8 prime AFS 18-55 wide tele AFS 55-200 tele AFS 75-300 tele I like them all depending on the subjects, light etc. I'm not a great photographer, but I love taking/editing pictures. Ronnie

I am an amateur's amateur, but I enjoy it very much. I have a Nikon DSLR and a few decent lenses. Here are a few of mine.... Ronnie

Loving the UltraSoft! Spinning & Baitcasting! Ronnie

Welcome! I am in NJ also, at the East end of I-195. You will enjoy the forums. Ronnie

slow way down. Ronnie

X2

I have used a lot of buzzbaits, but none that I like better than Cavitron. Ronnie

Hey Wayne, I am so looking forward to this trip, but lets not set the bar too high. I don't know nothing about the chickens. Ronnie

You had to send them $20 to cover shipping a new rod back to you and you had to pay to ship it to them. I can't see where you are saving a ton of money over the expediter service. Ronnie

This is the point that I think we are missing. Rods are very expensive to ship. You can ship a dozen reels for less than it costs for 1 rod. I don't know of any company that will pay for shipping on warranty work. I have had hard drives, broken camera parts, eye glasses, video player and motorcycle parts replaced under warranty, but I always had to pay to ship them back to the manufacturer. Although Roger got a personal beat down from a customer service rep that was out of line, I still think it's not reasonable to expect rod manufactures to bear the exorbitant costs of shipping rods. The loomis expediter service is just a simple way to replace the rod (good thing) without paying the high cost of shipping (necessary thing). I ship a lot of rods and I can tell you that loomis is not making any money on the expediter service. I like loomis rods and the expediter service. I have used it several times. Ronnie

For all around freshwater fishing, since you don't specify any particular technique...... Try this for a reel.... President 6735 http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_51666_100001002_100000000_100001000_100-1-2 And this for a rod...AVS66MF (6'6") or AVS70MF (7') if you want a longer rod..... http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_98386_100002000_100000000_100002000_100-2-0 I think you will be happy with these and within your budget. JMHO Ronnie

Please post the name of the your rod company that picks up the freight on warranty work. They just might get my business. Thanks! Ronnie

Geez, a guy makes one little mistake..you guys are brutal..I got your back Raul. ;)

For large saltwater spinning guides, I like the PacBay guides. Like ReelMech says, they have been around for a long time. I find nothing particularly inferior about their guides at the same price range and class as Fugi. JMHO Ronnie

I excel at making moot points LOL. I have been doing battle with life and am now coming off the ropes. You will see me around more now. Good to see there is still some lively discussions going on. Ronnie

Roger's experience not withstanding and I happen to think very highly of Roger. I have shipped a lot of rods as a rod builder and I fish with a lot of Loomis rods & blanks. It generally costs from 20-25 dollars to ship a "quality" rod (well packaged and insured). From a purely practical point of view, the "expiditer" service is effectively a free replacement. The $50 covers shipping both ways. I have used it several times and it keeps me buying Loomis rods & blanks. JMHO Ronnie

Roger, They still advertise their "expediter" warranty service on their website. You have to send them $50 to cover the cost of shipping both ways. I have done this several times without trouble. If it's worth the 1/2 C-note, I think it will work. Good luck. Ronnie

Just my humble opinion, but I am thinking as a rod builder, that when you are planning a swimbait rod with lure weights at over 4 oz, sensitivity becomes much less important. I would be more concerned with strength. The stress on the rod blank and real seat is enormous and you can feel it when you throw these big lures. I would skip the ACS seat. You don't need an exposed blank on a rod this heavy. Get the right size trigger seat, make it fit snug and glue it up. JMHO Ronnie

I did not work on this year's website, I only updated the registration form. This one is all Glenn. Nice work for sure!! Ronnie

He lives!!!!! How's it going Ronnie? Nice to see you. Hey Wayne, Yep, back from the dead. Coming off one of the hardest years of my life. Lost my house, haven't worked practically for almost 2 years, but you know me, I just 'keep on keeping on'. Everything is looking up now, I live in the Church's parsonage now and am getting married on Valentines day. My new wife is giving me the Road Trip as a wedding gift. All is as well it can be right now. I will be around the board more now that some of the busyness is behind me. Can't wait for the RT and seeing everyone again!! I have sent in my Registration - let's go-no excuses this year!! Ronnie

Hey Rhino, Thanks for trying again, it works fine now! Ronnie